Bratislava and a Slovakian Easter.

After three days in Prague, my final destination for the trip was definitely off the beaten tracks.

Bratislava is a jewel of a city that flies under the radar of most people. The Slovakian capital was always under the shadow of Prague when Czechoslovakia was one country, and its proximity to Vienna also contributes to a general lack of knowledge about it. A good friend told me if I ever went to Prague or Vienna, I needed to count on at least a day in Bratislava. I am so glad I listened to him.

After a 4.5 hour train journey from Prague through beautiful landscapes that seemed to last an eternity, I arrived to the Bratislava train station. It wasn’t as confusing as the Prague train station, but the trams were located on the basement floor. I found my way to my AirBNB (another great stay! I really am NOT on their payroll!), dropped off my stuff and went exploring the Old Town.

The Old Town is beautiful. I meandered the streets, bought my souvenirs and ate an early dinner (not so early in Slovakia but for someone living in Spain, 8:00 pm is pretty early), finally trying the pork knuckle. It was pretty tasty but not something I would eat on a regular basis.

I saw a bit of the nightlife, but I wasn’t too impressed with the stuck up clientele of Apollon. It says more about the gays of todays world than it does about the Slovakians, who are pretty friendly people.

Sunday morning, Easter 2016, recovering from the time change, I slept in a bit before finding my way to the Castle. Everything was closed, and it took me a while to find an open café. Thank you, Adro Bar and Café for being open. It had really great service, and the strudel and cappuccino were just what I needed for the visit to the castle.

The castle was beautiful and offered amazing views of the Danube River and Bratislava. I met a family from Valencia who snapped my photo for me, and I went off exploring and trying to find all the hidden statues of the city. There are quite a few of them!

I had a good cheap lunch, maybe not a typical Easter lunch though. It was similar to a chicken wrap.

After lunch, I crossed the main bridge to the UFO Tower. They let me use my student NIE for a discount, and it was definitely worth the 6,50 Euro.

I walked a bit along the Danube river before taking my typical siesta (you can take me out of Spain, but you can’t take the Spanish out of me….even if I’m not technically Spanish.)

After my short siesta, I found the Blue Church, which was pretty cool.

Then I decided to go to the Slavin War Memorial for the sunset. It did not disappoint. I’ll write more about this in two upcoming entries.

I cheated and had some Slovakian Chicken Wings for dinner that night at a cool bar. I was pretty tired, as I had seen a lot of this awesome city in just 24 hours.

The following morning, I awoke too early. Even on Easter Monday, everything in Bratislava was closed. I was able to catch the tram to the train station to catch Bus #61 to go to the airport. Less than a week after the attacks in Brussels, I had to pass through a metal detector before entering the airport. No problems with the Ryan Air flight back to Girona, where I caught the bus to Barcelona and said goodbye to my Easter Holidays for 2016.

It was a great trip, one of the best ones I have done. The three cities were special, and I would love to explore even more of these wonderful countries. Bratislava, I am so sorry I missed nearby Devin Castle. I have Vienna pretty high on my Bucket List now, so a return isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

I’m writing this a week after my day in Bratislava, and I am smiling at the fond memories of this city.